Pneumatic speed regulator for engines



Dec. 19, 1944. 7` E BQNNIERy v2,365,384

' PNEUMATIC SPACED REGULATOR FOR ENGINES Filed March 2e, 1942 I V rBy Patented Wee. i9, 1944 2,365,384 PNEUMA'rIc SPEED REGULATOR Foa ENGINES Claude Etienne Bonnier,

Neuilly-sur- Seine,

France; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application March 26, 1942, Serial No. 436,355 In France April 1, 1941 (Cl. 12S-103) 7 Claims.

The present invention, which applies to pneumatic speed regulator for an engine, provided with a carburetor or with a fuel injector, operating under fixed or variable working conditions, relates to an actuating device for opening or closing the throttles governing the admission of air or of carburetted gases supplied to these engines.

By this device the throttle or throttles are automatically actuated by a manometric relay influenced on the one hand by the partial or total atmospheric pressure and on the other hand by the partial or total vacuum prevailing in the admission conduit of the engine after the throttle or throttles. During normal operating conditions, only the action of the manometric relay prevails, without the intervention of any human force, nor of any other positive action whatever on the throttles taking place, the latter being consequently free to assume at any moment that position which depends on the value for which the partial vacuum is set in the manometric device, either by positive actuating means or for a given adjustment of this actuating means-the variations of working conditions resulting from the variations in the load of the engine.

The description which will follow, with reference to the appended drawing, given by way of non-limitative example, will allow a thorough understanding of how the invention can be embodied.

Fig, 1 is a diagrammatical sectional view of the manometric control device acting in conjunction with the throttle regulating the admission of the gases coming from a carburetor.

Figs. 2 and 3 represent a detailed view of a part of Fig. 1 in two different operating positions.

Fig. 4 is a perspective diagrammatical view of the manometric control device applied to theA synchronized control of the throttles of several carburetors.

Fig. is a diagrammatical view showing this device, operating in conjunction with the throttle regulating the admission of air, in an engine to which fuel is supplied by an injector pump with volumetric output.

In Fig. 1, the throttle I controls the admission of the carburetted gases led towards the cylinders of an engine in the direction of the arrow 2 in the conduit 3 which constitutes the prolongation of a carburetor partially shown at 3a.

The throttle pivots about a spindle la and can be actuated by means of a lever 4 and a connecting rod 5 connected to the pin 6 of a rod 'I secured onto a piston 8. This piston 8 slides under air-tight conditions in a cylinder 8.A The throttle I can be pushed into its closed position, and the a choke I5. The chamber I3 is, moreover, in-

communication with the atmosphere by means of a calibrated orifice I6 and, if desired, by a conduit l'I and a valve I8 which can be operated by the lever I9 and the actuating Vmeans 20. valve I8 is shown in different positions in Figures 2 and 3.

The operation is as follows:

For the position of throttle I shown, the admission into the cylinders is a minimum and corresponds to a no-load, low speed operation of the engine. The partial vacuum existing in 3 is. under these conditions, very superior to the contrary stress of the spring I I. The valve I8, shown in an entirely open position, allows the admission of air which destroys the partial vacuum transmitted to I3 and thus permits the spring II to hold the piston 8 up against the stop III and the throttle I in its minimum admission position.

Operating valve I8 in order to close it (Fig. 2) will result in partially reestablishing the partial vacuum in the chamber I3. The piston 8 will then be displaced and at the same time the throttle I will progressively open. 'I'his opening action will be interrupted when the depression prevailing in 3, communicated to the chamber I3, ternpered by the admission of air through the orice I8 and the valve I8, will counterbalance the resistance of the spring Il for a determined position of the valve I8.

In the position shown in Fig. 3, the valve I8 is shown completely shut and the partial vacuum prevailing in 3 is thus entirely communicated to the chamber I3. This corresponds to full admission conditions.

Under these conditions, the stress of the spring I I will, for example, be predetermined as to counterbalance the partial vacuum prevailing in 3 and communicated, in I3, to the inner face of the piston, when the engine operates at its maximum rate and the throttle I is wide open.-

It is quite comprehensible that any reduction The' in the working speed resulting from an increase in the power required of the motor will have for eiect a drop in the partial vacuum in 3 and in I3. The spring II will no longer be counterbalanced and the piston 8 will be drawn forward thereby progressively shutting the throttle I, which will result in a. modification of the partial vacuum in 3.

The same operation will take place again for all positions of the valve I8 between the slowing down and full admission, which is equivalent to saying that a determined value of the pressure in the conduit 3 will correspond to each position of the said valve, whatever changes may occur in the speed and load of the engine.

Moreover, the partial vacuum communicated to I3 can be modified at will by Calibrating the air admission orifice I6 so as to be proportional to the size of the orice I whichl'conimunicates the partial vacuum. This arrangement will allow to determine without diiculty the proper choice of the spring II, or, for example, for any givenv spring, to control the said partial vacuum in I3 in order to cause the supply pressure in the engine in the conduit 3 to vary independently of the action of the valve I8.

These arrangements result in obtaining the following advantages:

For instance, it is possible to maintain the partial vacuum beyond the throttle I constant at full load, this condition ensuring a more regular operation of the motor and a better utilization of the fuel. s

The spring I I may be chosen to answer definite aims; either because it is desired to limit the admission pressure to a determined maximum value, during full load operation; or because what is wanted is to completely ll up the engine at high duties with the possibility of automatically closing the throttle I for the low full load speeds in order to, for example, allow a better atomisation of the fuel by an increase in the speed of the air current at the level of the throttle I. In this latter case, the strength of the spring II will be predetermined so as to be insufficient to counterbalance the partial vacuum at the maximum fullload rate and, as a result, the closing of the throttle as a consequence of load variations will occur only after a substantial decrease in the working speed.

.Another advantage canbe obtained by that type of control which allows, in the case of the so-called floating engines, the suppression of the abrupt opening of the admission and the transmission shocks which result therefrom at low, full-load speeds as a consequence of torque irregularities. This result can be easily obtained by giving the orifice I2 the proper calibration, with a view to braking the too rapid acceleration of the piston 8 in conjunction with the displacements of the positive control means actuating the valve I8. l

Fig. 4 diagrammatically represents three manometric devices acting in conjunction with three carburetors mounted on a common admission conduit. The branch conduits I'I, Il' and I1 of the manometric devices are connected one to another by a conduit 2I. A feeder 22, the length of which may, incidentally, vary, joins the conduitl 2I to a single valve I 8.

Each one of the throttles operates in exactly the same manner as described above. The valve I8 simultaneously controls the three relays, atmosphericA air being distributed to each one of the cylinders 9, 9', 9" by means of the piping 22, 2|, then I1, I1 and I1". The feeder 2,2 may be given a sufcientdiameter to avoid any loss of load, and may be given a convenient length to simultaneously obtain the possibility of governing at a distance and a transmission free from mechanical play, thus ensuring a perfect synchronisation in the actuating of the throttles. This arrangement naturally applies in the case of several motors operating synchronously and controlled by a single valve I8.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the conduit 3 supplies pure air, in the direction of the arrow 2, to an engine provided with an injector in which the fuel is supplied the engine cylinders by a pump 25 and conduits 26, 26', 26" and 26"'. The throttle I is connected to the same organs as in Figures 1 and 4. Moreover the control lever I9 of the valve I8 is connected by a rod 23 to the axis of a rack 24, the displacements of which, between the positions 21 and 28, control the variations in the discharge of the pump 25. The extreme points 21 and 28 correspond respectively to the points 29 and 30 of the total displacement of the lever I9 Finally, a thermostat 3l, sensitive to temperature variations controls the movements of a needle valve 33 which can vary the crosssection of the orifice I6 connected to the chamber I3 by an appropriate conduit 32.

The operation of the manometer control means of the throttle I remains the same as that described in the preceding examples and ensures, in addition to those advantages already indicated, the automatic control of the air-fuel ratio in function of speed and low variation of the engine.

As has been explained hereabove, the pressure, for all positions of the valve I8, assumes a constant value in the conduit 3, whatever may be the working speed variations resulting from changes in the load. Consequently, if, on the one hand, the connection between the control means of the valve I8 and that of the rack 24, which regulates the output of the pump 25 is arranged in such a way that a suitable fuel supply corresponds to each value of the air pressure in 3 determined by a given position of the valve I8, and if, on the other hand, for this same position of the valve I8, the fuel supply discharged by the injector pump remains proportional t0 the working speed of the engine,the constancy of the air-fuel ratio will automatically be maintained by the Iaction of the piston 8, said action being a function of the working speed variations resulting from the load variations of the motor. This same result will obviously be obtained for all positions of the control means actuating the valve I 8 and the rack 2t.

On Figure 5, the device ensuring the connection ybetween the control means of the valve I8 and the rack 24 of the pump is supposed to be a connecting rod 23. Such a connection means may not allow the suitable relation between the displacements of the valve I8 and those of the rack 24. To obtain the desired relation, which relation or law is itself a function of the shape of the valve and of the constitution of the pump, it is possible to ensure the connection between the control means of the valve and the rack 24 in any suitable manner.

A liason ensured by means of a connecting rod may also be maintained by giving the valve opening or port I8 an appropriate shape so that the cross-section of the passageway varies according to a determined law.

Finally, it would be possible to arrange in the Pump.

Moreover, the variations in the air supply which may be the result of temperature changes will be rectified by the action of the thermostat 3l and the needle valve 33 which, by increasing or diminishing the size of the oriiice I6 for the admission of air will modify the partial vacuum acting at all times on the piston 8 and, by so doing, will diminish or increase the air supply in 3 in relation to the temperature.

The embodiments shown do not in any way limit the invention but are only given by way of example.

What I claim is:

l. In a control device for combustion engines, an air admission piping for the engine, a mobile throttle controlling the air supply in said piping, a relay sensitive to pressure variations in order to control said throttle, means for subjecting said relay to the constant action of the atmospheric pressure on the one hand, and on the other hand to the variable action of the partial vacuum which prevails in the said piping beyond the said throttle and manually operable means t vary the degree of the action of said vacuum on the relay.

2. In a control device for combustion engines, an air admission piping for the engine, a throttle mounted in said piping to cause the air supply to vary, a manometric relay for actuating this throttle, the said relay comprising a casing divided into two chambers by an organ sensitive to pressure Variations which is connected to the said throttle, a calibrated pipe for connecting the said piping beyond the throttle to that one of the chambers of the said casing in which the partial vacuum brings about the opening of the throttle by means of the said organ, a resilient retracting means tending to close the throttle, a narrow calibrated orifice for connecting the said chamber of the said casing with the atmosphere, another orice for connecting the said chamber with the atmosphere, this last mentioned oriiice being provided with a hand operated valve and a calibrated orifice for connecting the other chamber of the said casing with the atmosphere.

3. In a control device for combustion engines, an air admission piping for the engine, a throttle mounted in said piping to cause the air supply to vary, a manometric relay for actuating this throttle, the said relay comprising a casing divided into two chambers by an organ sensitive to pressure variations which is connected to the said throttle, a calibrated pipe for connecting the said piping beyond the throttle to that one of the chambers of the said casing in which the partial vacuum brings about the opening of the throttle by means of the said organ, a resilient retracting means tending to close the throttle, a narrow calibrated orifice for connecting the said chamber of the said casing with the atmosphere, means for controlling, in function of the temperature of the air admitted into the engine, the cross-section of the passage for the atmospheric air through the said narrow calibrated orifice, another orifice for connecting the said chamber with the atmospheric air, this last mentioned orifice being provided with a valve actuated at will and a calibrated orifice for connecting the other chamber of the said casing with the atmosphere.

4. In a control device for combustion engines, an air admission piping for the engine, a throttle mounted in said piping to cause the air supply to vary, a manometric relay for actuating this throttle. the said relay comprisinga casing divided into two chambers by an organ sensitive to pressure variations which is connected to the said throttle, a calibrated pipe for connecting the said piping beyond the throttle to that one of the chambers of the said casing in which the partial vacuum brings about the opening of the throttles by means of the said organ, a resilient retracting means tending to close the throttle, a calibrated orifice for connecting the said chamber of the said casing with the atmosphere, a valve for regulating the cross-section of the said calibrated orifice, a thermostat placed in the said admission piping to control in relation to the temperature of the air the position of the said valve, another orifice for connecting the said chamber with the atmosphere, this last mentioned orifice being provided with a valve actuated at will and a calibrated orifice for connecting the other chamber of the said casing with the atmosphere.

5. In a control device for combustion engines, a carburetted air admission piping for the engine, a throttle mounted in said piping to cause the carburetted air supply to vary, a manometric relay for actuating this throttle, the said relay comprising a casing divided into two chambers by an organ sensitive to pressure variations which is connected to the said throttle, a calibrated pipe for connecting the said piping beyond the throttle to that one of the chambers of the said casing in which the partial Vacuum brings about the opening of the throttle by means of the said organ, a resilient retracting means tending to close the throttle, a narrow calibrated orifice for connecting the said chamber of the said casing with the atmosphere, another orifice for connecting the said chamber with the atmosphere, this last mentioned orifice being provided with a valve actuated at will and a calibrated orifice for connecting the other chamber of the said casing with the atmosphere.

6. In a control device for combustion engines, a carburetted air admission piping to the engine, said piping being provided with several branches connecting it to several carburetors, a throttle in each one of these branches between the correspending carburetor and the said piping, a relay operating in conjunction with each one of these branches and sensitive to the difference in pressure between the atmospheric pressure and the pressure prevailing in the corresponding branch beyond the said throttle, the said relay being utilized for actuating the said throttle, means on each one of these relays to connect it to the corresponding branch pipe beyond the throttle and means common to these relays to connect them with the atmosphere and control the passage of the atmospheric air.

7. In a control device for combustion engines, an air admission piping for the engine, a throttle mounted in said piping and controlling the air supply, a relay sensitive to the diierence in pressure between the atmospheric pressure and the pressure prevailing in the said piping beyond the said throttle, the said relay being utilized for actuating the said throttle, means for connecting this relay to the said piping, means for connecting the said relay to the atmosphere and for controlling the passage of the atmospheric air, a pump for injecting the fuel into the engine, means for controlling the quantity of fuel supplied by this pump and means for coupling the said means for controlling the fuel supply with the meansy for controlling the admission of atmospheric air into the said relay.

CLAUDE ETIENNE BONNIER. 

